Law gradually catches up with fake doctor from Ogbadibo

Written By Idoma Television on Monday, August 17, 2015 | 4:42:00 AM

WINIFRED OGBEBO writes on the turn of events around the imposter who
paraded himself as a medical doctor in the Federal Ministry of Health
for several years as justice gradually catches up with him

The
long arm of the law is gradually catching up with Martins Okpeh Ugwu,
who reigned like a supremo in the Federal Ministry of Health where he
functioned as a ‘medical doctor’ for more than nine years. The holy
book’s admonition that the wicked will never go unpunished is being
fulfilled right before his very eyes.
He was arraigned almost a
month ago at an Abuja high court on a five-count charge bordering on
fraud and deceit. That the 44-year old secondary school certificate
holder paraded himself as a medical doctor for nine whole years and even
rose to become the chairman of a branch of the Nigerian Medical
Association, NMA before he was detected remains a shock which many
people are yet to recover from.

An indigene of Ogbadibo Local
Government Area of Benue State and father of five children, Ugwu had
stolen the medical and academic credentials of his childhood friend, Dr.
George Davidson, a medical doctor practising in Jos and used them to
secure employment in the Federal Ministry of Health.

He
‘practised’ for nine years and collected salaries due a senior medical
officer until the lid was blown off his scheme. All through his deceit,
he was described as an argumentative and bellicose officer who tormented
the lives of his colleagues in the ministry, serving as a competent and
confident trickster and an extortionist.

He was said to have
perfected his trade of extortion not only from staff of the main
ministry but also heads of agencies under the Federal Ministry of Health
who he often harassed.
As the fake doctor’s unprofessional
conduct and unbecoming behaviour became intolerable, a petition was sent
to the Federal Civil Service Commission and the Medical and Dental
Council of Nigeria Council (MDCN) to investigate and clarify his status.
Immediately, the lid was blown off the deceit and he was uncovered as
an impostor.

‎ One of those deeply saddened by the sordid
situation is the permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH),
Linus Awute, who was said to be at the receiving end of Ugwu’s
mischief.
Since the discovery, Awute , in a July 6, 2015 petition
to the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, entitled ‘Undue
Harassment And Threat To Life’, said Ugwu was not operating alone as
staff of the ministry including himself had been receiving threatening
text messages from unknown people over the issue.

“I have feelers
that he has sponsors, both external and internal, who are also willing
to step into his shoes. They have been sending threatening text messages
to all of us here,” he stated. A still stunned Awute further said,
“It’s quite shocking because I respect the medical profession, I have a
lot of friends and relations who are medical doctors, and because of
their professionalism and functions, it has made me to revere the
profession, because it’s about saving lives.

“This guy in question
happens to be someone I met in the ministry, so it would be out of
place for me to come into the ministry and believe that the man who is
called a medical doctor is not a medical doctor,” he said.

The
permanent secretary explained that he was rudely shocked when he saw a
letter of invitation for interrogation from the civil service commission
to ‘gentleman’ Ugwu on the issue. “I was a bit surprised as to why the
invitation will centre on such allegations, and I thought it was rumours
that circulate in the system where people want to pull people down.
“I
thought it was just to spite him, but little did I know that it will
come to pass that this gentleman has question to answer as communicated
by the civil service commission and the Medical Dental Council of
Nigeria,” he added.

As for the man whom he impersonated for 9 years, Dr Davidson, to say he was shocked is to put it mildly.
“I
felt betrayed. That is the summary of the whole thing because this is
somebody that even my family who stays in Abuja complains about that
there is something about him that they don’t like and I will still go
out of my way to defend him, even in front of them,” he said.

He
explained that he graduated in 2002, and after his housemanship was
exempted from the NYSC based on age. He worked with the Plateau State
Government from 2004 to 2012, during which period he went round three
general hospitals in the state before resigning to go for his residency
programme. He has been on the residency programme from 2013 till date.
All through these years, he never had an inkling that his bossom friend
was posing as a medical doctor in his work place using his name and
credentials, he added.

The real Dr Davidson said he was dazed when
the Dental and Medical Council of Nigeria told him on the phone that he
was being impersonated, with the photocopies of his certificate.
Expressing
serious concern and utmost disappointment in Ugwu, he said members of
his family had remained in shock over the incident.

“None of his
relations has spoken with me, even though I believe I deserve some
apologies from them. If there is one thing I want out of this whole
case, it is for me to get an apology either from Martins or from his
family members,” George said.

He added, however, that he got a
little peace when he saw Ugwu paraded on national television for the
fraud and expressed the hope that the matter would not be swept under
the carpet. “Since this thing happened, nobody has called me and I get
afraid that with the normal Nigerian way of doing things, it will be
swept under the carpet,” he pointed out.

But the permanent
secretary is so determined in his quest for justice on the matter that
he is not leaving any stone unturned in ensuring the prosecution of the
case to the letter. He has meanwhile taken steps to erase every trace of
Ugwu in the ministry. He had earlier warned the nation’s development
partners, NGOs and CBOs working in partnership with the ministry not to
have any form of dealings with Ugwu.

“I also wish to call on all
national and international agencies to discountenance all protest
letters and submissions written by this impostor,” he further counseled.
As
the nation awaits the outcome of the trial of the fake doctor, the
ministry has calculated his total emolument for the over nine years he
operated and according to the estimate, Ugwu is to refund over N17
million he fraudulently received during the period.

This first
punishment is a welcome development. Ultimately, it is expected that the
fraudster will do a jail term in the nearest future to serve as
deterrent for people like him and others who may be tempted to toe same
line.